Counterpoint: Smart logging helps both forests and economy grow

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Hiking, camping, hunting, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, berry picking, bird-watching. These are just some of the many ways Minnesotans of all ages use our forests. Workers in the forest products industry want to keep it that way, because we live in the forests and enjoy the same things.

And yes, forests are also actively managed, which provides the products each of us use every day. The forest products industry is a cornerstone of the state's economy, providing over 69,000 jobs, $17.4 billion in gross sales, and generating nearly $500 million in state and local tax revenue.

Over the past 25 years, several programs have been put in place to assure Minnesotans that our forests are being managed sustainably. The governor-appointed 17-member Minnesota Forest Resource Council facilitates landscape-scale planning, advises the governor and Legislature on forest policy, and fosters cooperative discourse on matters related to Minnesota's forests.

Perhaps most important, the MFRC developed forestry best management practices that protect wildlife habitat, water, soils, cultural features, scenic beauty and many other environmental services. Annual monitoring shows impressively high compliance rates.

Through participation in the Minnesota Logger Education Program, loggers in the state undertake annual continuing education covering sustainable forest best management practices, safety, and regulatory and policy issues.

Minnesota is a national leader in the amount of land certified as sustainable by both the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Our major mills are also certified and third-party audited to ensure that the fiber they use is sustainably sourced. The forest products industry is committed to working cooperatively with all stakeholders to properly manage the state's forests.

This spirit of cooperation was on full display in 2017 and 2018 when Gov. Mark Dayton directed the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to conduct a Sustainable Timber Harvest Analysis (STHA) to determine the best approach to keep state forests healthy. The analysis was a rigorous scientific study conducted over 18 months, that included state-of-the-art modeling. The process was overseen by a 14-member stakeholder group with representation from diverse interests in forestry, wildlife, conservation, as well as staff from DNR divisions of Fisheries and Wildlife, Ecological and Water Resources, and Forestry.

On top of all that, 140 individuals and groups followed the process and provided comments on the outcomes. When the STHA was completed in 2018, the stakeholder group's representative from the Izaak Walton League told the Outdoor News that the process was the best forest analysis he'd ever been a part of.

So, when the Star Tribune wrote in "Timber turbulence" (Oct. 23) that STHA was a "public-private pact between DNR and the forest products industry," it did a disservice to the more than 150 women and men representing all stakeholders who participated in the rigorous science-based process.

Much of the article focused on the management of our state's wildlife management areas, and it repeatedly used the phrase "intensified logging." However, the DNR can demonstrate that timber harvest has actually declined in Minnesota's WMAs since STHA. In the retired DNR biologists' opinion, logging is bad for "wildlife." But all forest management, including doing nothing at all, benefits some species while reducing habitat for others. Logging provides young forest used by most game animals and a suite of songbirds like the golden-winged warbler at some point in their life cycles. Older forests provide habitat for a different group of species. The key is having the correct balance of age classes and forest types across the landscape to conserve all wildlife species native to Minnesota.

Minnesota's forests have trended toward older, larger trees over the past 45 years. We have over 2 million more forested acres now than in 1977, including nearly 19 million more trees over 19 inches in diameter. We grow three times as much wood as we harvest. For every two trees harvested, three trees die of natural causes. In short, Minnesota's legendary forests are in great shape and in good hands.

All of this is thanks to partnerships and collaboration across a variety of stakeholders who may have different approaches for getting things done, but who all agree on one basic thing: We love our state's healthy forests.

Rick Horton is a wildlife biologist serving as the executive vice president of Minnesota Forest Industries. Ray Higgins is the executive vice president of the Minnesota Timber Producers Association.